1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a support and guide element for the sliding movement of door and wall elements that are suspended from a stationary roller rail. The door or wall elements are mounted, for example, by means of a truck or trolley which is guided in a system of roller rails fastened to the ceiling. The ceiling rails are designed such that the support or guide element is disposed inside the roller rail. The roller rail further comprises a recess running along its bottom side, wherein the shaft of the support and guide element projects through the recess and is fixedly connected to the door or wall element located therebelow. The running surfaces for the truck or trolley are generally the bottom inside surface of the roller rail. In addition, to impart a greater degree of stability to the truck or trolley, lateral guidance of the trolley within the roller rail should also be provided either by guide pins or guide rollers. These guide rollers or guide pins can generally be disposed above the support rollers and contact the side walls of the roller rail.
2. Background Information
One example of a support and guide element for a movable or sliding door or wall is disclosed in German Patent No. 21 45 793. Two co-planar pairs of rollers are employed, which have the same clear distance from one another and fill up the width of the rail. There are also means which guarantee that the support body is sufficiently supported in the vicinity of the intersection of two rails. The roller pair is oriented symmetrically in relation to the trunnions. But beyond a certain point, such a configuration may result in the support rollers slipping out of the guide rails.
Another example of a support and guide element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,889,112. This United States patent discloses the design of an arrangement of support and guide rollers, wherein the support and guide rollers are oriented symmetrically around a pivot.
As another example, German Patent No. 35 22 824 also discloses a support and guide system for movable door or wall elements. In this German patent, the trolley is preferably equipped with eight support rollers. The trolley is guided by head rollers, which are mounted on vertical axles, in conjunction with guide means, which are located on the ceiling rail. In addition, spheres which can rotate in all directions are used as support elements, which spheres guarantee that the support rollers move in the running direction and provide linear guidance of the trolley in the rail junction areas. The overall design and construction of this trolley is very complex, and thus is not an economical solution.
As a final example, German Utility Model 72 47 479 discloses a support and guide element mounted in the center so that it can rotate. The support and guide element is equipped with four support rollers and three guide rollers. As a result of the trolley mounting being located in the center, a particularly complex support element is necessary to guarantee a smooth movement of the support element at the junctions of the roller rails.
All known support and guide elements have decisive disadvantages, which disadvantages can be summed up by noting that it is precisely at the junctions or intersections that smooth motion and thus a user-friendly operation is unobtainable. Further, it is precisely in these areas where, when the wall element is moved, a locking of the support rollers occurs. This locking may be attributed, to some extent, to the fact that the guide system formed by support rollers and guide rollers does not function smoothly when crossing a junction.